Self-contained breathing apparatus having face piece vision system

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides a self-contained breathing device. In one aspect, the self-contained breathing device includes a face piece lens, a seal at an edge of the face piece lens, an air supply member at a central portion of the face piece lens, and a vision system embedded in the face piece lens with a portion of the vision system being exposed exterior to the face piece lens.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No.15/287,927, filed Oct. 7, 2016, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/238,232, filed Oct. 7, 2015, the entirecontents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a breathing apparatus. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to a breathing apparatushaving a face piece vision system.

BACKGROUND

Currently, firefighters use hand-held thermal imaging cameras tonavigate through smoke filled environments. The utility of these devicesis minimized because at least one hand is required to hold them. Anotherdeficiency with the hand-held cameras is due to the density of smokethat gets in between the handheld display and lens of the self-containedbreathing apparatus face piece. Vision is impaired and the displayscreen on the handheld camera disappears and cannot be seen.Accordingly, there is a need to develop a new breathing device thatincludes an integrated thermal imaging system. Although other solutionshave been presented to the fire service community in an effort to meetthis need, they have yielded unfavorable results due to deficiencies inthe design, specifically due to the environment in the field of view ofthe user is offset because the sensors are positioned too far away fromthe user's eye, coupled with a display that does not have see-throughcapability, positioned outside of the user's field of view requiringthem to look away from the true environment, and towards an offsetdisplay. These systems do not compensate for parallax issues, and createa dangerous depth perception issue that can lead to injuries. Having asee-through transparent display positioned directly in front of theuser's eye, with an overlaid image of the scene in true scale 1:1overlap is essential as this disclosure defines, and eliminates thedeficiencies other systems have.

SUMMARY

In view of the foregoing, the present disclosure provides aself-contained breathing apparatus having an infrared sensor integratedand sealed thereon, coupled with a transparent heads-up display thatprojects the imagery from the infrared sensor to the eye inside of theface piece lens of the breathing apparatus, so as to optimize thefirefighter's vision in smoke filled environments. This improves safetyof search and rescue missions, as well as, decreases the time for afirefighter to get to the source of a fire while navigating throughsmoke. The incorporation of a transparent heads-up display into abreathing apparatus is important, because when the infrared sensor isnot needed, the firefighter's vision is unobstructed when the camera orvision system is shut off, while the self-contained breathing apparatusface piece is still worn. Exemplary uses for the breathing apparatusinclude firefighting, law enforcement SWAT team raids, as well asnavigating through tunnels in the mining industry.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a self-containedbreathing device comprising a face piece lens, a seal component at anedge of the face piece lens, an air supply member at a central portionof the face piece lens, and a vision system integrated with and securelyfastened to a side of the face piece lens. The vision system comprises adisplay component having an active matrix display device and atransparent heads-up display for receiving optical output signalsprojected from the active matrix display device, wherein the transparentheads-up display is configured to be aligned with an eye of a userwearing the self-contained breathing device; and an infrared sensorcomponent having an infrared lens assembly and an infrared image sensorfor capturing an infrared image of a potential heat source that isprojected to the transparent heads-up display.

In one embodiment, one feature of the vision system is the eliminationof moving parts, such as shutters. The camera or vision system of thepresent disclosure can be calibrated manually by having the user placinga hand in front of the lens assembly located in front of the infraredimage sensor. Although manual calibration may not be desirable incertain cases, the elimination of additional components, such asmechanical automated shutters, reduces overall system cost and increasesbattery life of the image sensor.

In one embodiment, another feature of the vision system is that anintegrated infrared sensor is coupled to a transparent heads-up displayinto the self-contained breathing apparatus lens without incorporatingany adjustment features needed to accommodate for parallax correctionand inter-pupil distance, along with a shutter-less camera which can becalibrated in the face piece lens.

In one embodiment, the vision system further comprises a user controlinterface having an activation keypad for receiving user interactionsand user control electronics for converting the user interactions intoelectronic control signals.

In one embodiment, the vision system further comprises a core controlcomponent including a power supply, a core electronic circuitelectrically coupled to the power supply, and a video output terminalelectrically coupled to the core electronic circuit.

In one embodiment, the core control component includes focal planeelectronics electrically coupled to the infrared sensor component,control electronics for processing an electrical input signal from theinfrared sensor component, and power supply electronics electricallycoupled to the power supply for regulating power.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a firefighter wearing a breathing apparatus inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B schematically illustrates a display having multiple visionscreens in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a breathing apparatus having avision system, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the face piece vision system, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Breathing apparatus of the present disclosure can be implemented byintegrating and sealing an infrared sensor into the self-contained facepiece lens. Image data can be received through a germanium front-endobjective lens assembly centered on an infrared sensor. The infraredsensor data received can then be transmitted through wired signalconnections to a micro-display illuminating sensor. The micro-displayilluminating sensor projects pixels, which are matched to the infraredsensors pixels, into a transparent heads-up display, or beam splitter,positioned in front of an eye of a user.

One feature of the present disclosure is the elimination of movingparts, such as shutters. The camera or vision system of the presentdisclosure can be calibrated manually by having the user placing a handin front of the lens assembly located in front of the infrared imagesensor. Although manual calibration may not be desirable in certaincases, the elimination of additional components, such as mechanicalautomated shutters, reduces overall system cost and increases batterylife of the image sensor.

Another feature of the present disclosure is that an integrated infraredsensor is coupled to a transparent heads-up display into theself-contained breathing apparatus lens without incorporating anyadjustment features needed to accommodate for parallax correction andinter-pupil distance, along with a shutter-less camera which can becalibrated in the face piece lens.

Hereafter, the present disclosure is described in more detail withreference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1A illustrates afirefighter wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus 100 (a.k.a.,compressed air breathing apparatus) in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of abreathing apparatus 100 having a vision system 140, in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to both FIGS. 1A, and 2, breathing apparatus 100 includes aface piece lens 110, a seal component 120 at the edge of face piece lens110, an air supply member 130 at a central portion of face piece lens110 proximate the firefighter's nose and mouth, and a vision system 140integrated with and securely fastened to a side of face piece lens 110.In one embodiment, seal component 120 may be made of fireproof rubber ora flexible tubular material running around the edge of the face piecelens 110 so as to ensure that, when breathing apparatus 100 is worn,airtight separation is formed between the space inside of face piecelens 110 and the surrounding environment.

In one embodiment, vision system 140 includes a transparent heads-updisplay 142 that is aligned with an eye 20 of a firefighter, an infraredsensor component 144 having an infrared lens assembly and an infraredimage sensor for locating possible sources of fire or heat with respectto the eye 20 of the firefighter. In one embodiment, vision system 140further includes a mechanical adjustment mechanism 146 which can be usedto manually adjust a relative position between the infrared lensassembly and the infrared image sensor of infrared sensor component 144,so as to ensure that a captured infrared image is focused. In oneembodiment, the vision system 140 has at a field of view 40 at an angleof about 10˜45 degrees.

FIG. 1B schematically illustrates a display having multiple visionscreens in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Asbest seen in FIG. 1B, the display could be cube-shaped 143 and consistof multiple vision screens 143A, 143B, 143C and 143D so the fireman hasmultiple screens to see multiple images and can be aware of thesurrounding environment to protect himself from harm in a fired buildingand the like.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the face piece vision system 300,in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 3, vision system 300 includes a sensor component 310, a corecontrol component 320, a display component 330, and a user controlinterface 340. These components are enclosed in a housing 350 withselected portions being exposed exterior for signal input/output and foruser interactions. As shown in FIG. 3, user control interface 340includes an activation keypad 342 for receiving user interactions, anduser control electronics 344 for converting the user interactions intoelectronic control signals.

Referring to FIG. 3, sensor component 310 includes an optical lensassembly 312 and an infrared image sensor 314. In one embodiment,optical lens assembly 312 is configured to project an optical imagesignal (infrared or visible, preferably infrared) to a focal plane whereimage sensor 314 is located. Image sensor 314 converts the optical imagesignal into an electrical input signal (e.g., an analog signal) andtransmit the electrical input signal to core control component 320 forfurther processing.

Referring again to FIG. 3, core control component 320 includes a powersupply 322 (e.g., one or more batteries), a core electronic circuit 324electrically coupled to power supply 322, and a video output connector326 electrically coupled to core electronic circuit 324. In oneembodiment, core electronic circuit 324 further includes focal planeelectronics 3242 electrically coupled to sensor component 310, controlelectronics 3244 for processing the electrical input signal, and powersupply electronics 3246 electrically coupled to power supply 322 forregulating power. In one embodiment, core control component 320processes the electronic input signal from sensor component 310,generates an electrical output signal (e.g., a digital signal) inaccordance with the electrical input signal, and then transmits theelectrical output signal to display component 310 and/or video outputconnector 326 for further processing. In one embodiment, the electricaloutput signal is formatted in accordance with a digital video or imagestandard that is suitable for being displayed by a display apparatus(e.g., display component 310, or an external display screen connected tovideo output connector 326).

Referring still to FIG. 3, display component 330 comprises a transparentheads-up display 332 and an active matrix display 334. Active matrixdisplay 334 is electrically coupled to core control component 320 toreceive the electrical output signal. In certain embodiments, activematrix display 334 can be an organic light emitting diode (OLED)display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), or any other suitable displaydevices. In one embodiment, active matrix display 334 projects anoptical output signal to transparent heads-up display 332 in accordancewith the electrical output signal received from core control component320, thereby allowing the user to view the infrared image captured bysensor component 310.

In sum, the manner that the transparent heads-up display is positionedeliminates adjustment features and parts typically used for thecompensation of inter-pupil distance human form factors. This isimportant because the same breathing apparatus is interchangeablebetween users or different shifts of users, without separating the unitfrom the lens which can easily result in dropping and damaging thesensor system. In other words, this technique eliminates the need for amodular, adjustable, or removable camera device or vision system.

Another common method to align the infrared scene to the user's eye isby shifting pixels in the X or Y direction to correct for parallax, oroffset issues seen by the user when designing augmented reality systemslike this. Such method is obsoleted by the disclosed approach ofpositioning the heads-up display, as shown and described above.

For the purposes of describing and defining the present disclosure, itis noted that terms of degree (e.g., “substantially,” “slightly,”“about,” “comparable,” etc.) may be utilized herein to represent theinherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to anyquantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation.Such terms of degree may also be utilized herein to represent the degreeby which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference(e.g., about 10% or less) without resulting in a change in the basicfunction of the subject matter at issue. Unless otherwise stated herein,any numerical values appeared in this specification are deemed modifiedby a term of degree thereby reflecting their intrinsic uncertainty.

Although various embodiments of the present disclosure have beendescribed in detail herein, one of ordinary skill in the art wouldreadily appreciate modifications and other embodiments without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as stated in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A self-contained breathing device, comprising: aface piece lens; a seal at an edge of the face piece lens; an air supplymember at a central portion of the face piece lens; and a vision systemembedded in the face piece lens with a portion of the vision systembeing exposed exterior to the face piece lens.
 2. The device of claim 1,wherein the vision system comprises: an infrared sensor including aninfrared lens assembly and an infrared image sensor for capturing aninfrared image of a potential heat source; and a display including anactive-matrix display device and a transparent heads-up display forreceiving the infrared image projected from the active-matrix displaydevice.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein the infrared sensor is coupledto the transparent heads-up display without incorporating adjustmentfeatures needed to accommodate for parallax correction and inter-pupildistance.
 4. The device of claim 2, wherein the transparent heads-updisplay is capable of being aligned with an eye of a user wearing theself-contained breathing device.
 5. The device of claim 2, wherein thedisplay is configured to project multiple vision screens side-by-side tothe transparent heads-up display.
 6. The device of claim 2, wherein thevision system further comprises a housing that encloses the infraredsensor and the display.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the visionsystem comprises a shutter-less camera.
 8. The device of claim 1,wherein the vision system comprises a user control interface having anactivation keypad that receives user interactions, and user controlelectronics that controls the user interactions into electronic controlsignals.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein the vision system comprisescore control electronics including a power supply, a core electroniccircuit electrically coupled to the power supply, and a video outputterminal electrically coupled to the core electronic circuit.
 10. Thedevice of claim 9, wherein the core control electronics include focalplane electronics electrically coupled to the infrared sensor, controlelectronics for processing an electrical input signal from the infraredsensor, and power supply electronics electrically coupled to the powersupply for regulating power.
 11. The device of claim 1, wherein thevision system is calibrated manually by placing a hand of a user infront of the infrared lens assembly of the infrared sensor.
 12. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the seal is made of a fireproof rubber orflexible tubular material.
 13. The device of claim 1, wherein the visionsystem includes a display device having multiple screens tosimultaneously display multiple images captured from a user'ssurrounding environment.
 14. A self-contained breathing device,comprising: a face piece lens; a seal at an edge of the face piece lens;an air supply member at a central portion of the face piece lens; and avision system embedded in the face piece lens, wherein the vision systemcomprises a display device having multiple screens to simultaneouslydisplay multiple images captured from a user's surrounding environment.15. The device of claim 14, wherein a portion of the vision system isexposed exterior to the face piece lens.
 16. The device of claim 14,wherein the vision system further comprises an infrared sensor includingan infrared lens assembly and an infrared image sensor for capturing aninfrared image of a potential heat source in the user's surroundingenvironment.
 17. The device of claim 16, wherein the infrared sensor iscoupled to the display device without incorporating adjustment featuresneeded to accommodate for parallax correction and inter-pupil distance.18. The device of claim 14, wherein the vision system comprises a usercontrol interface having an activation keypad that receives userinteractions, and user control electronics that controls the userinteractions into electronic control signals.
 19. The device of claim14, wherein the vision system comprises core control electronicsincluding a power supply, a core electronic circuit electrically coupledto the power supply, and a video output terminal electrically coupled tothe core electronic circuit.
 20. The device of claim 14, wherein theseal is made of a fireproof rubber or flexible tubular material.